Image and Video Information

I don't know about you, but I am fascinated by images, which is one of the reasons why I love teaching online. In an online world, as opposed to a traditional print world, we can use all kinds of images together with texts, along with other kinds of media too (audio, video, etc.). When I see images online, I am often curious about them and want to know more. Exactly what does the image show? Where does the image come from? Unfortunately, many images on the Internet are adrift, without any information to tell us more about what we see. For this class, I would like you to approach images as an object of study, asking questions about the images and then sharing what you learn about the images in the citation you provide. 

So, when you use an image for a blog post or a webpage in this class, you need to include image information as follows: (1) there needs to be some kind of caption or description of the contents of the image along with information about the creator of the image if known, and (2) there needs to be a link to the web source where you found the image so that your viewers can click and go learn more about the image if they want.

Note: On this page, I have put the captions under the image, but that is not required. In fact, it is often better (less distracting) to put the image information down at the bottom of the page with your other bibliography information! Providing information about the images is very important, but where you put that information on the page is totally up to you!

Image with caption and link:

Collage compiled by 19th-century photographer
Mary Georgina Filmer (1838-1903). Source: Wikipedia. 

Video with caption and link:

(NOTE: this embedded video may not display inside Firefox and other hypersecure browsers, on an iPad, etc. - which is exactly why it is important to provide the YouTube link in the caption.)

LEGO Voldemort Goes Wand Shopping at YouTube

Images you create : If you are using an image you created yourself (a photo you took, a drawing or a painting you created, etc.), then you do not have to provide a link to a web source. Just make sure you provide a title for the image and give yourself credit as the source for the image. Here's an example:

(Image Information: personal photo of our cat Ralph;
photo from January 2013.)

Generated image. If you used an online tool of some kind to create the image, please include a link to that tool. Here's an example of a meme created with an online tool:

(image created with the Einstein Generator)

In addition, please pay careful attention to the following guidelines:

WEBSOURCE LINKS: The link to your web source needs to be a link to an actual webpage, not a link to the raw image file. Linking to the image file provides your viewers with no new information, but a link to a webpage is potentially very useful!

Example of a webpage link - GOOD - click on the link to see a webpage:

Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times, 1939. Web Source: Rotten Tomatoes: Charlie Chaplin Quiz.

 

Example of an image file link - BAD - click on the link and there is only the image again:

Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times, 1939. Web Source:  4109409_std.jpg.

DETAILS IN CAPTION: You may need to do some image research in order to come up with a good caption, especially if you are using a work of art. If you are using a painting, for example, and the web source where you found the painting does not give the artist's name, you can use Google Search-by-Image to find out who the artist is in order to include the artist's name in the caption. 

For additional information about searching for and researching images, see this page: Finding and Using Images Online.